█ Context:

The Innovation Department of a multinational corporation is a key player in helping the company succeed and remain competitive. With a focus on developing new products, services and business models, this department is at the forefront of the company’s growth strategy.

Managing the idea generation and evaluation process was challenging for a large company with a dedicated innovation department. The innovation team struggled to maintain a centralised repository of ideas, track the progress of individual ideas and communicate effectively with multi-functional stakeholders.

The company decided to implement JIRA and Confluence to address these issues. The goal was to streamline the innovation process.

• The Jira setup consisted of a single project with a complex workflow that allowed requirements to be submitted, commented on and transferred.
• The Confluence setup included decision pages divided into categories and sorted by date, with dedicated spaces for handling debates and decisions.

► Operational challenges for the Innovation Department

The innovation team received ideas from various sources, including employees, customers, and partners. However, managing the sheer volume of ideas and multi-functional projects was becoming a challenge. The team used spreadsheets, email, and sticky notes to keep track of ideas, making it difficult to maintain an up-to-date and comprehensive view of the innovation pipeline.

Additionally, there was no straightforward process for evaluating ideas and determining which ones to pursue. As a result, ideas were being lost or forgotten, and stakeholders were in the dark as to the status of their submissions.

►General operational considerations

To overcome these challenges, the innovation team implemented JIRA and Confluence.

JIRA provided a centralised repository for ideas, allowing the team to create, categorise, and track ideas through their lifecycle. The JIRA’s powerful reporting and dashboard features gave the team a real-time view of the innovation pipeline, allowing them to quickly identify bottlenecks and prioritise work.

Confluence served as a centralised source by creating an “Idea Hub” as a central repository for all innovation-related information. This central source included detailed idea descriptions, evaluations, and status updates. Confluence’s collaboration features allowed stakeholders to participate easily in the innovation process, providing feedback and updates on their ideas.

►Technical setbacks

The JIRA and Confluence implementation was not without its challenges. There were issues with data migration and integration with other systems, such as the company’s HR and CRM systems. JIRA support team addressed these technical setbacks and worked closely with the innovation team to resolve these issues. The JIRA support team also provided ongoing training and support to ensure the innovation team was fully equipped to use the tools to their fullest potential.

Existing Data Migration

Despite the benefits of JIRA, the implementation process was not without its challenges. One of the biggest technical challenges faced by the innovation department was data migration from the existing systems to JIRA. The department had a large amount of data, including project information, task status, and resource allocation, which had to be accurately and efficiently transferred its data to JIRA. The existing data migration required significant time, effort, and close collaboration between the IT and project management teams.

Customisation

Another challenge was the customisation of JIRA to meet the specific needs of the innovation department. The department required several custom fields, workflows, and reports to be added to JIRA to support its unique project management processes. This customisation required a deep understanding the JIRA architecture and capabilities and a high level of technical expertise to configure and implement the needed customisations.

Training

User adoption was another challenge faced by the innovation department. The department had to train its staff on the new platform and educate them on the benefits of JIRA and how to use it effectively. This activity required a dedicated training program and ongoing support to ensure that all staff were comfortable and confident in using JIRA, which was critical to the success of the implementation.

█ Results

The JIRA and Confluence implementation had a significant impact on the innovation process. The centralised repository and real-time view of the innovation pipeline allowed the team to make more informed decisions about which ideas to pursue. The “idea hub” provided a single source of truth for all innovation-related information, improving communication and collaboration with stakeholders. This “idea hub” is always used as a centralized repository and partially integrated into the company’s information system.

Implementing JIRA and Confluence has improved the innovation process for the large company’s innovation department. The centralised repository and “idea hub” have streamlined the idea generation and evaluation process, enhancing decision-making and communication with stakeholders. Despite some technical setbacks, the JIRA support team was able to resolve these issues, providing the innovation team with a powerful toolset to drive their innovation efforts forward.